"There needs to be shock and there is. But you know when I first got here nine years ago, the first time I went through a 9/11 ceremony, the priest where I went, St. Peters, said 'you know what's more important than 9/11, 9/12, the day after 9/11. New Yorkers rallied. They got out of bed, and kept at it. There always seems to be resilience. There always seems to be a let's keep living in hope that I admire."

Dolan said he planned to encourage the injured at Bellevue Hospital.

"First of all, if they're Catholic I'm going to ask, `Would you like the sacrament?' The sacrament of the anointing of the sick is very powerful. I'm going to see if they want holy communion. If they're not Catholic, I'm still going to say that we love you. That all of New York is praying for you. You're not alone. Not only are we with you, the Lord is with you."

The cardinal said he also had a message for the alleged suspect, Sayfullo Saipov, 29, although Dolan did not meet with him.

Sources said Saipov was celebrating the attack while recovering from a gunshot wound he suffered when he was apprehended by cops.

"I have a lot of concerns about his soul and I hope he does," Dolan said. " We can't hide the anger that all of us have. And yet I have to listen to the man I follow, who also happens to be true man and true God and try to forgive. I understand he has a wife and family and my heart goes out for them, but boy oh boy that can't soften the sense of horror and condemnation we have for what he's done."